Apple's New CarPlay: The Last Hope to Crack the Auto Industry

Apple's CarPlay is now its last hope to conquer the automotive industry. The new CarPlay aims to fully integrate into vehicles, offering a slicker interface and greater customisation. Android Automotive poses a challenge to Apple's CarPlay dominance.

Apple’s next-generation CarPlay interface. — Credit: APPLE

In a bid to fend off Android's expansion into vehicles, Apple developed the CarPlay interface. However, with the shelving of its own car plans, CarPlay has now become Apple's last hope to conquer the automotive industry. The revamped CarPlay, known as Project IronHeart within Apple, aims to fully integrate the system into vehicles, taking over more screens and controls like the radio and air conditioning. This is a significant departure from the current CarPlay interface, which primarily focuses on operating Apple services.

The rise of Android Automotive, an integrated system installed directly in cars, has posed a challenge to Apple. Major car manufacturers such as Polestar, Porsche, BMW, and Volkswagen have embraced Android Automotive, making it the market leader in the car operating system market. In response, Apple has introduced the new CarPlay, offering a slicker interface and greater customisation. However, unlike Android Automotive, the new CarPlay still runs on the iPhone and is not a new embedded operating system in vehicles.

Apple’s updated CarPlay interface. — Credit: APPLE

While the new CarPlay has been announced and is set to launch this year, its adoption has been slow. Only Porsche and Aston Martin have formally announced support for the new interface. The limited rollout has primarily focused on high-end cars, such as the Aston Martin DB12. This exclusivity raises doubts about the new CarPlay's ability to dominate the auto industry.

Interestingly, Apple currently has no plans to monetise the new CarPlay. The company does not intend to charge users for the software or require car manufacturers to pay for its installation. However, the cancellation of Apple's car project may prompt a reconsideration of this approach. Apple could potentially charge automakers to support CarPlay or introduce a paid upgraded version called CarPlay+. Additionally, Apple could offer customisable templates within the operating system, allowing users to personalise the look of CarPlay.

Time is of the essence for Apple to gain more automaker support for the new CarPlay. Failure to do so could result in losing ground to Android and missing out on the lucrative auto market. With the cancellation of the Apple car project, the new CarPlay is now the company's sole focus in the automotive industry.

Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Get in Touch Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal LEARN MORE By Mark Gurman March 17, 2024 at 8:45 PM GMT+8 Save Apple’s new CarPlay interface was originally designed to fend off Android, but now it’s Apple’s last hope to conquer the automotive industry. Also: Suppliers gear up for a major AirPods launch; the US Department of Justice prepares a lawsuit; and Apple buys a Canadian AI startup. Last week in Power On: Apple car designs gave a tantalizing look at what might have been. Watch “What Killed the Apple Car?” — our mini-documentary about what happened to the project. You can see all our videos on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Fire TV, Android TV and Vizio. The Starters AppleCar2 Apple’s updated CarPlay interface.Source: Apple When Apple Inc. started working on revamped CarPlay software about four years ago, it saw the system as a way to beat back Android’s growing expansion into vehicles. Now that Apple has shelved plans for its own car, CarPlay has arguably taken on even more importance: It’s the company’s only hope of seriously cracking the automotive market. The concept for the new CarPlay, known as Project IronHeart within Apple, was to take the system to the next level by fully integrating it into vehicles. It would take over more screens and a car’s instrument cluster, as well as features like the radio and air conditioning system. That’s a big change from the current CarPlay interface, which is more focused on letting you operate Apple services and doesn’t handle most of a car’s controls. When Apple decided to revamp CarPlay, it was worried about Android. The Google operating system had started off in cars with a CarPlay-like feature called Android Auto. It lets users plug their phone in and get a smartphone-style interface for music, podcasts, voice control and maps. But a few years after both Android Auto and CarPlay hit the market, Google took a major leap by introducing Android Automotive. Though this software doesn’t look radically different than Android Auto, it’s installed in the car itself. That means it’s an integrated system that can take over a vehicle’s screens and gauges without the need to connect a phone. Over the past few years, this approach has swept the car world. Polestar, Porsche, BMW, Volkswagen, Ford, Lucid, Stellantis and General Motors now offer cars with the Android operating system built-in. After just seven years, Android Automotive is the market leader — with an estimated 35% of the car operating system market. The new CarPlay is a response to that. Apple hopes it can win over users and automakers with a slicker interface and greater customization. There is one big difference, though: The new CarPlay still runs on the iPhone and isn’t a new OS embedded in the vehicle. Now, Apple explored turning the new CarPlay into a full operating system that runs on cars directly. But the approach would have worked best with Apple-designed chips and other proprietary technologies, like displays. It wasn’t seen as practical to install that in cars. AppleCar3 Apple’s new CarPlay interface. — Credit: APPLE

In other news, Apple suppliers are gearing up for the largest AirPods launch to date. Production is set to begin in May, with an estimated 20 to 25 million units planned. The new AirPods will replace the second- and third-generation models and will feature a new design, improved fit, and charging cases with USB-C. Additionally, Apple is planning software upgrades for the AirPods, including a hearing aid mode for the AirPods Pro.

The US Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company squeezes out smaller competitors. Apple, however, maintains that the case lacks merit. Lastly, Apple has acquired Canadian AI startup DarwinAI to further develop future AI features and services.

Apple's CarPlay is now its last hope to conquer the automotive industry.
The new CarPlay aims to fully integrate into vehicles, offering a slicker interface and greater customisation.
Android Automotive poses a challenge to Apple's CarPlay dominance.

Source: BLOOMBERG